Erin Evangelista received the Excellence in Public Health Award, a recognition of her long-standing commitment to improving rural healthcare. She is a fourth-year medical student at JABSOM, focused on addressing healthcare gaps in rural areas—a passion that began well before she started medical school.
Before joining JABSOM, Evangelista served in the United States Public Health Service in South Dakota, working with Indian Health Reservations. Holding an engineering degree, she concentrated on the technical aspects of rural health. This unique background gave her a special perspective on rural healthcare challenges. “I wanted to be involved in that side of rural health since I’ve never seen that part of the U.S.,” she said.
Her interest in rural health began even earlier. Born in California, Evangelista moved to the Philippines at age 12 and lived there for four years before settling in Hawaiʻi. In Taytay, Rizal, near Manila, she witnessed firsthand how communities struggled with health education and had little exposure to healthcare careers. “We didn’t have physical education or good guidance on healthy eating,” she recalled. “We didn’t understand what it meant to be a doctor or nurse, and we had no exposure to healthcare jobs.”
Today, Evangelista is part of the first group in the Kauaʻi Medical Training Track (KMTT), a program that immerses medical students in rural health by having them live and train on Kauaʻi, known as the Garden Isle. She described her experience there as rewarding. “I love the community on Kauaʻi. Everything and everybody is so tight-knit,” she said. She shared how seeing patients in clinics and then running into them in public places like Target created a closer bond.
However, she also saw the limits of healthcare on the island. “The longer I was there during my third year, the more I noticed what care was missing,” she explained.
This awareness, combined with her volunteer work in local schools, led her to create the Kauaʻi Health Education Initiative (KHEI). Evangelista noticed students and faculty often said, “We don’t have the opportunities that Oʻahu students have.” This feedback became the foundation for KHEI.
Her vision for KHEI grew from her own high school experience on Oʻahu. “I didn’t get good exposure to what it means to be healthy or what healthy living looks like, nor did I learn about health careers,” she said.
KHEI has two main goals. First, it seeks to evaluate current health education in Kauaʻi’s three public high schools to find ways to improve the curriculum. Second, it aims to give students a voice and involve them in shaping their education.
The program is still developing. “It’s going to take some time because it’s complex,” Evangelista said. “We’re already working with the Department of Health and hope to involve the Department of Education to measure the program’s impact.” She added that she will stay on Kauaʻi as an attending physician for four years, thanks to KMTT, and looks forward to seeing the initiative grow.
Evangelista plans to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, a field much needed on Kauaʻi. She will continue supporting KHEI after becoming a physician. She believes the healthcare system on the island will improve significantly as new doctors from KMTT graduate each year in various specialties. She envisions a “snowball effect,” where former KMTT students mentor high schoolers, encouraging more young people to pursue health careers.
“Honestly, it’s exciting to watch where Kauaʻi’s health resources and public health will go,” she said.
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